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The Cottage Days of Summer
Where has the summer gone? I always feel this way as September nears. Do you as well? When the weather was just warming this season, I wrote an article called Cottage Days for the Edmonton Senior and Calgary Senior Newspapers. In the article I interviewed two energetic women about their experiences owning a cottage and hosting friends and family over the summer. I have been a guest of both women and know they are examples worthy to be followed.
Image from Cottage Days article, Edmonton Woman Magazine website.
Please click on the link here to read Cottage Days.
This summer my family spent some time in a “cottage” of our own. It was a wood-walled A-frame cabin with a sink and toilet and a place to sleep. It was cozy… and when I say that, I mean small – but that is what I loved about it. We only hung out in there at bed time as we read our books and snuggled into sleeping bags.
There is something magical about cottage days, escaping it all and reducing the needs to a humble few.
Have you ever vacationed at a cottage? What was your experience like?
Thanks for reading!
Summer Art-Making
What creative fun did you have over the summer?
I find the summer to be a sporadic and dysfunctional season for my art making practice. That’s not to say it isn’t a productive time, I’m always prolific it seems; but that I am a little all over the place as I balance travel, family time and my hours in the studio. Yet, through the experimentation and creative play during the warm months of June, July and August, I always have a lot of fun with my art.
I started making pen drawings of people, which became felt drawings, eventually morphing into paintings. These were quirky surprises that began as simple doodles. When I make art, I love sitting back and seeing where my subconscious will take me.
Also during the summer I painted for my The Quiet Rebuild series. (Yes, there are three manifestations of The Quiet Rebuild: the sculptures, the portraits and the paintings.) The paintings in this series are represented by the Art Gallery of Alberta in their Art Rental and Sales program.
This is only a smidge of what I have been up to over the summer, my favorite season. I’m inspired by the vibrant colours of summer and its humidity and playfulness. It’s no wonder my work reflects the flirtatious fun of those sultry months. Yet, now that we are firmly planted in September, I am loving the return to routine it inevitably brings.
